Working and Not Working

Q: What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?

The Sabbath is a holy day ordained by God for rest and signifies His sanctification of His people. The Sabbath, as outlined in Exodus 35:1-3, is a command from God that emphasizes a day of rest on the seventh day, which is to be regarded as holy. It is significant because it originated after God's work of creation, signifying His completion of work and sanctification. God commands that no work be done on this day, and breaking the Sabbath carries severe consequences, illustrating the importance of holiness and obedience to God’s commands. This day serves as a reminder that holiness is something that God Himself imparts to His people, pointing to the ultimate rest found in Christ.

Q: How do we know sanctification is true?

Sanctification is true as it is grounded in God's declaration and the work of Christ in believers. The doctrine of sanctification is established in scripture as God’s promise to make His people holy, which is affirmed in passages such as Ephesians 1:4, where it states that believers were chosen 'to be holy and without blame before Him.' Sanctification is not merely an external declaration, but it is also realized in the believers' lives as they are led by the Holy Spirit. The work of Christ is central to this process, as seen in Hebrews 10:10, indicating that through His sacrifice, believers are perfected and made holy. Therefore, sanctification is true because it is the result of God's faithful promises and the transformative work of Christ.

Q: Why is the Sabbath important for Christians?

The Sabbath is important for Christians as it embodies rest, holiness, and a reminder of God's work in salvation. For Christians, the Sabbath is significant as it is a time set apart for holy rest, reflecting on God’s finished work and His holiness. Rather than seeing the Sabbath as merely a day of prohibition, it should be understood as a divine sign that illustrates the sanctification provided by God. It signifies the end of our striving and self-effort, pointing us instead to the rest found in Christ’s redemptive work. The observance of the Sabbath serves as a reminder of our need for rest from works as we embrace what God has accomplished for us, thus deepening our relationship with Him. This rest leads us to reflect on the fullness of our salvation and the assurance we have in Christ.

Q: How can believers rest in Christ?

Believers rest in Christ by ceasing from their own works and relying on His completed work for salvation. Resting in Christ involves a complete reliance on His work rather than our own efforts to attain holiness or righteousness. Hebrews 4:10 emphasizes that those who enter into God's rest cease from their works just as God did from His. This rest signifies a shift from striving to earn favor with God to receiving fully the grace provided through Jesus Christ. By understanding that our sanctification and righteousness come solely from Christ’s sacrifice, believers can live in joyful assurance rather than legalistic striving. This understanding leads to true rest, allowing Christians to live freely and actively for the glory of God, recognizing that their good works are a product of His grace at work within them.

Now, would you turn to Exodus
chapter 35? Exodus chapter 35. If you were given the task of summarizing
all of God's commandments, how would you do it? That would be
quite a task, wouldn't it? Moses summarized all of God's commandments
in these three verses. Exodus chapter 35, verses 1 through
3. This is a summary of all of God's
commandments. And Moses gathered all the congregation
of the children of Israel together and said unto them, these are
the words which the Lord hath commanded that you should do
them. Six days shall work be done,
but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day."
And my marginal reading says, holiness. On the seventh day
there shall be holiness. A Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whosoever doeth work therein
shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout
your habitations upon the Sabbath day." Now, the Sabbath is a summary
of all God has to say. Now, if you would have asked
me to summarize all God has to say, I wouldn't have picked out
the Sabbath day. But this is seen several times in the scriptures. Now, the Sabbath first appears
after God's work of creation. And think of how severe the penalty
was for breaking the Sabbath. Anybody who breaks the Sabbath
is to be put to death. And remember, with God, the punishment
always fits the crime. Look in Genesis chapter 1, verse 31, And God saw everything
that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening
and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the
earth were finished, and all the host of them, and on the
seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested
on the seventh day from all of his work which he had made, and
God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. He said it was
holy. Now, it was no better in and
of itself than the other six days, but when God said it's
holy, it's a holy day. And this is our introduction
to the Sabbath day, because in it he had rested from all his
work which God created and made. Now, the Sabbath is God's response
to a finished work, a work that was very good. Now, during the
Passover, the first feast for the Israelites, it was to be
done on the Sabbath day. And there was a command, no manner
of work was to be done. on the Day of Atonement. You
can read about that in Leviticus chapter 16. It was to be done
on the Sabbath day, and they were commanded to do no work
at all. Now, when the manna came down
from heaven before the giving of the Ten Commandments, before
we had the Sabbath commandment, the fourth commandment in the
Ten Commandments, the manna came down from heaven, and you will
remember that on the sixth day, they were told to gather twice
as much. not gathering on the Sabbath
day, and they were to cook it the day before. No fire was to
be kindled on the Sabbath day. There was not to be any cooking
done. When Moses went to the top of
Mount Sinai the first time to receive the law, and you can
read about everything he heard from God in Exodus chapter 20
through 31. That's the moral law, the Ten
Commandments, that's the civil law. That's the ceremonial law,
that's the laws regarding the priesthood, the tabernacle and
so on. He received all of this. And
now look at the way he, in Exodus 31, here's how he sums it all
up. Exodus 31. Beginning in verse 12. This is after the Lord had given
him the final instructions regarding the tabernacle. And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of
Israel, saying, Verily, my sabbaths ye shall keep. For it is a sign
between me and you throughout your generations that you may
know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. You shall
keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you. Everyone
that defileth it shall surely be put to death, for whosoever
doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among
his people. Six days may work be done, but
in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whosoever
doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to
death." Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generation for a perpetual
covenant. It is a side between me and the
children of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed,
and he gave unto Moses when he had made an end of communing
with him." upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables
of stone written with the finger of God. Now, this was God's last
instructions to Moses. Keep the Sabbath. Anybody who
breaks the Sabbath will surely be put to death. Now, you'll
remember what happened in the next chapter, the golden calf
incident. And so after that was over, Moses
goes back up on top of Mount Sinai for another 40 days. And
he receives the law once again in Tables of Stone. And here
is the final word from God once again in chapter 35, verse 1.
And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together
and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath
commanded that you should do them. And he reminds them once
again of the Sabbath. Now, I love the way the Lord
chose to perform most of his miracles on the Sabbath day. It drove the Pharisees crazy.
You know, in the three feasts that the children of Israel were
to perform, they all lasted eight days. They would begin on the
Sabbath day and they would end on the Sabbath day. And this
tells us that the totality of our experience, the beginning
and the end, has something to do with the Sabbath day, this
command not to work. Now, notice, he says in verse
two of our text, in chapter 35, six days shall work be done.
Six days shall work There is a time to work. The
Sabbath does not condemn working. Working is a good thing. Think
of the emphasis the Bible puts on work. Now, I want you to listen
real carefully. There was work going on before
the fall, wasn't there? There surely was. God placed Adam in
the garden to tend the garden. Work is a good thing. And what
is the first thing the Lord said to the seven churches in the
book of Revelation? Revelation 2 and 3. He said,
I know thy what? Works. He didn't say, I know
your doctrinal stance and your creed and so on. He said, I know
your works. If our work, it is our works
that demonstrate what we really believe. Everything else is just
theory. Everything else is just academic.
It's our works, what we do, that prove and demonstrate what we
really believe. James said, faith without works
is what? Dead. Being alone. He said, show me thy faith without
thy works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. For in Christ Jesus, neither
circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith
which worketh. by love. I want us to look at Paul's bold
assertion regarding the Thessalonians. Turn to 1 Thessalonians 1. He says in verse 4 of 1 Thessalonians
1, knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. Now, that's
a bold assertion, isn't it? He said regarding these people,
I know you're one of God's elect. That'd be hard to say that to
just about anybody. I mean, I believe I'm looking
a lot of God's elect, but I don't know for sure. We'll see. We'll
see. Hope I am one, but we'll see.
But yet he makes this bold assertion, knowing, brethren beloved, your
election of God. How did he know that? Did he
crawl up into heaven and see the Lamb's Book of Life and see
the names written there? No, it's by what he saw. Look
in verse three. He says, remembering without
ceasing your what? Work of faith. and labor of love
and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of
God and our Father, knowing, brethren, beloved, your election
of God. For our gospel came not into
you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and
in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were among
you for your sakes. And you became followers of us
and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with
the joy of the Holy Ghost, so that you were examples. to all
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. He said, I know your
election of God by what I have seen. Now, works and labor take
effort and self-sacrifice, don't they? I know your works. And it's a good thing. Was it
a good thing? When that woman broke that alabaster
box of ointment on our Lord's head. And our Lord said she had
wrought a good work. On me. And interestingly, that's
the only work that our Lord ever called a good work. The Lord
said. Labor not. For the meat which
perishes, don't labor for that. But for that meat which endureth
to everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give to you,
for him hath the Father sealed, we are commanded even to labor
to enter into his rest." Give every effort, give every diligence
to enter into his rest. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. There
are a few other scriptures I want you to see. The Sabbath is not anti-work.
Six days thou shalt work. Look in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20. Now the God of peace
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every what? Good work. To do his will working
in you, that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Turn back to Second Timothy,
Chapter 3. Here's the purpose why the Bible
was written. I want you to look at this with me. Second Timothy,
Chapter 3. This is one of the purposes why
the Bible is written, and this is the purpose he gives us. Look
in verse 16, all scripture. is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect,
truly furnished unto all good works. When Paul is giving a
summary of his preaching, he says in Acts chapter 26, verse
20, that men are to repent Turn to God and do works, meet for
repentance. We're told in Philippians 3,
verse 12, to work at your own salvation. Work at your own salvation
with fear and with trembling, for it's God which worketh in
you, both to will and to do His good pleasure. You've heard me
say, or you've even said, I'll work it out. I'll work out the
problems. You give attention to those things. We're called
upon to work out. our own salvation. And God's people are a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. Every single one of them. If
you're a child of God, don't you want to have good works to
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ? You want to honor him in your
life. Every one of God's people are zealous of good works. And the gospel does not take
away the importance or the necessity of work and the effort and motive
behind them. Remember, faith without works
is what? It's dead. It's unsaving. It has no power. Being alone. The ministry is called a work
and a labor. Paul spoke of those who labor
in the word and doctrine. The Lord said the harvest truly
is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Paul said in Ephesians
4, 8, he spoke of the work of the ministry. And when he talked
about the desire to be a preacher, he said, he that desireth the
office of a bishop desireth a good work. It's a work. Are good works
necessary? Absolutely. Our Lord said in
Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 through 10, for by grace are you saved.
Through faith. And that not of yourselves, it,
even that faith, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any
man should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that
we should walk in them. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15,
58, Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord. that your labor is not in vain
in the Lord. Six days work is to be done. So when we talk about the Sabbath,
that's not saying all works are wrong. Obviously they're not.
There's no salvation apart from what I've been talking about.
But let's go back to our text in Exodus 35. Six days shall work be done,
but On the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day. And my marginal reading says
holiness, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whosoever doeth work
therein shall be put to death. Now here's what the Sabbath teaches.
Do you want to understand the Sabbath? Do you want to know
the reason behind the Sabbath? Look back at Exodus 31, verse 13. I've already read this
once. Speak thou also unto the children
of Israel, saying, Verily, my Sabbaths you shall keep. And
remember, what's the rule of the Sabbath? Don't work. Don't
do anything. Why, they didn't pick up sticks
on the Sabbath day. They were stoned to death and
put to death. I mean, God said, if anybody breaks this, put them
to death. That's how important this is. And look what he says
in verse 13. Verily, my Sabbath you shall
keep, for it, the Sabbath, is a sign between me and you throughout
your generations that you may know that I am the Lord that
doth sanctify thee. God is holy. He is of two pure eyes to behold
iniquity, and for me to be accepted of him, I myself, in my person,
must be holy. I must have a holiness that is
equal to God's. And you know there is only one
holiness. Like that. I must have a holiness that's
equal to God, for God to embrace me, I have to be as good as God. Do you believe that? For God
to embrace me, for God to accept me, for God to love me, I'm going
to have to be in my person, I myself, I'm going to have to be as good
as God. I'm going to have to be holy.
Holy. A holiness that's equal to God's
holiness. And there's only one holiness
that's equal to God's holiness. You know that. Now, here's the
question. How? And this is what the Sabbath
teaches us. I'm the Lord that sanctified
thee. How can I be holy? Because I know this much about
myself. In and of myself, I am a very, very sinful, full of
sin human being. I'm a sinner. I am a sinner.
I'm not talking about what I used to be. I'm talking about what
I am right now in my spirits. I am a sinner. That means all I do is sin. Well, I'm talking to you right
now because I'm saying that I'm sinning. All I got to do is speak
it. It's bad. I'm a sinful human
being. All I do is sin. I cannot not
sin. I can't keep it. Try to not sin.
Try to be perfect. You can't do it. I can't look
down my nose in judgment on anybody. Anything you've done, I guarantee
you, if I haven't actually committed it, it's only because I haven't
had the opportunity. And I've been restrained by the
grace of God. That's the only reason. That's the only difference.
I can't look down my nose in moral superiority over anybody. I don't have any claims on God.
I'm a sinful, sinful man. And yet God will not embrace
me. God will not save me unless I
am holy, as holy as God himself. Now, how in the world can that
be? That's the great mystery of godliness. Well, that is understood in the
Sabbath. God tells us, here's what the
Sabbath means. I am the Lord that doth sanctify
thee. And that word sanctify means
I make you holy. I know this. The only way I can
be holy is for God to make me holy. I can't be holy any other
way. There's nothing I can do to make
myself holy. The only way I can be holy is
for God to make me holy. Sanctification. I am the Lord
that doth sanctify thee. If you were to pick out one word
from the scripture that most comprehensively describes God's
salvation, I have no doubt it would be this word, sanctification. Sanctification. God's people
are called saints. sanctified ones, holy ones. And sanctification covers God's
salvation. Now, here's the teaching of the
Sabbath. Don't work that you may know that I am the Lord that
doth sanctify thee. Now, the word sanctification
means to take something common and ordinary. Nothing special
about it. and set it apart to be holy. Now, that seventh day, Saturday,
was no better than Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, but God set it apart
and it became holy. He sanctified the seventh day. He said it was holy, and indeed
it was holy. Now, the vessels of the temple
were set apart for holy purposes. In and of themselves, they were
no better than any other vessels. They were made of brass, some
of them were made of clay, some of them were made of gold, but
they were just vessels. But they were set apart by God to be His
vessels. He said they're holy, and holy
they were. Now here's the best way I can
think of to illustrate this. In Daniel chapter 6, Belteshazzar. He's having him a party. He's
having a good time. He's with his concubines and
his rulers and so on. And they're having a big party
and they're drinking wine and they're having some kind of heathen
party. And all of a sudden he has an
idea. He says, I'll tell you what we're going to do. Remember,
Israel had been carried captive into Babylon, and they took all
the vessels of the temple and all the different things in the
temple, and they brought it there to put it in their treasure house.
And he said, I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're going to take
the vessels of Jehovah, and we're going to drink our wine out of
them. We're really going to have a good time. Now, remember, these vessels
were set apart for holy purposes. Now, he's going on in his partying,
and God will deal with him in Judgment Day. He just goes on.
But when all of a sudden he takes this vessel, this vessel of God,
and he pours his wine in it, and he puts it up to his lips,
and he begins to drink. All of a sudden, a hand appears
riding against the wall. Thou art weighed in the balances
and found wanting. And God killed him that very
night. You see, that was a holy vessel to the Lord in and of
itself. There wasn't anything special
about it. But when God set it apart to himself, it was special,
sanctified. This day of rest is your holiness. You don't work to be holy. I
am the Lord that doth sanctify thee. And God's people in and
of themselves are no different than anybody else. Children of
wrath, even as others, but the difference between them and everybody
else is infinite, because He is the One who sanctifies every
one of His people. Now, in and of myself, I'm by
nature a child of wrath, even just like everybody else. But
I'm united to Christ. I'm set apart. set apart by God to be holy. Now, this is seen in the work
of the triune God in salvation first. And this is true of every
believer. While in and of myself, oh, I
can't even emphasize it enough, I'm nothing but sin. Yet God,
in His mercy before time began, chose me. and set me apart, and
this is what he did of every believer, the holy doctrine of
election. He set apart every believer to
be holy. Now let's see that in the scripture.
Ephesians chapter 1. Verse 4. According as he hath chosen us. Who's the us? Everybody he chose.
according as He has chosen us in Him, when? Before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame before
Him. Now, election is God choosing
His people before time began and choosing them to be holy. Now, if God chooses me to be
holy, you know what? I'm going to be holy. Whatever God does, whatever He
purposes to do, He does. It's always effectual. So sanctification
means to set apart to be holy. Now, here's another. They're
all related. Sanctification also means to
regard as holy, not simply to set apart to be holy, but to
regard as holy, to view as holy. And I think the best illustration
of this is found in 1 Peter 3, verse 15, where we read, sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts. Now, I can't set Him apart to
be holy. He already is holy. I certainly can't make Him holy.
He already is holy. But I can regard Him to be holy.
I view Him in my heart as holy. Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed, holy be thy name, I regard him as holy. That's what it means
to sanctify. If you sanctify something in
your heart, that means you regard it, you view it as holy. Now, turn with me to Hebrews
chapter 10. Now, this is how the Lord makes holy. First, he
chooses somebody to be holy. He sets them apart. He causes
them to be holy in eternal election. He said they're chosen to be
holy. Now, look here in Hebrews chapter 10, beginning in verse
9. Then said he, Lo, I come, this
is the Lord Jesus, to do thy will, O God. Now he taketh away
the first, that covenant of works, that he may establish the second
by the witch will, by God's will. We are sanctifying. We are holy. We are declared
by God to be holy. By the witch will, by God's will,
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. You see, when the Lord Jesus
Christ died, God said regarding everybody He died for, they're
holy. They're holy. Now, if God says,
I'm holy, you know what? I'm holy. Let's go on reading. And every priest stand daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can
never take away sins. But this man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting
till his enemies be made his footstool for by one offering
he hath perfected forever. than that are sanctified through
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, I am regarded by
God as holy. And listen to me, God wouldn't
regard me as holy if I wasn't holy. This is what the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ did. This is what his work on the
cross actually accomplished. He made everybody he died for
holy. What does it mean to sanctify?
First, it means to set apart, to be holy. Second, it means
to regard to be holy. And by the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ on the cross, I was regarded by God to be holy because
I am holy by what he did. And thirdly, to sanctify is to
actually make holy. Turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. But we are bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Now, what is sanctification
of the spirit? It's the new birth. The sanctification
making he made his holy. I'm given a holy nature, the
sanctification of the spirit. What's the evidence that you've
got a holy nature? The belief of the truth. I can't see it, but I sure believe
it because I believe the gospel. I believe the gospel. That's
the evidence that God has done something for you. You can't
separate sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.
Where you have belief of the truth, you know why you got it?
The sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit. Wherever you have
the sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit, you know what you'll
have? Flat out belief in the truth. They go together. They're never separated. Sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Somebody may ask me the question, are you holy? Yes, I am. Every believer is holy. Are you a saint? What does saint mean? Holy one. Wherefore, Holy Brethren, partakers
of the heavenly calling. That's what every believer is
called. And let me say this. Sanctification. Here's my favorite verse regarding
sanctification. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom. and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. My personal holiness is the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. Can't be more holy than that,
can you? He's made unto me wisdom. I'm a wise man. So is every other
believer. You know, people that trust Christ,
they're wise. People who look to their works,
they're idiots. They're fools. They're crazy.
But, oh, to trust Christ as your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification. That's a wise man. I'm righteous. I have personal righteousness.
Their righteousness is of me. I'm holy. I'm sanctified. He is my sanctification. He is
my complete deliverance. And you know what? I believe
this. I believe this. I can't look at myself and say,
well, boy, that was a real holy action. No. I sin with everything
I do. But if God says I'm holy, I really
am holy. I'm not representatively holy,
I am holy in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that summarizes all God's
commandments, everything he has to say. There's a time to work.
The Sabbath is not anti-work. I want to give myself all together. Don't you want to be the Lord's
servant, to do his will, to whatever he'd have you do? I want to be
the Lord's servant. But I know this, I can't make
myself holy. But he does. And that is the
gospel. It's all seen in the Sabbath
day. And I love the way those feasts
begin on the Sabbath, resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
they end on the Sabbath, resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
the only way that you and I will have that faith which works by
love is to rest only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't work. You
try to work, you try to do anything to make yourself holy, and you've
broken the Sabbath. Do you understand that? You have
any work that you think will make you holy, I don't care if
it's the beginning, an act of your free will, I don't care
if it's in the middle, some work you do or some goodness you possess
that makes you progressively more holy and less sinful, or
I don't care if it's the end, some work you do that will give
you a higher reward in heaven, you've broken the Sabbath. We
rest, don't work, rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it sweet
to rest? Oh, thank God for the Sabbath. Let's pray together.

Working and Not Working

What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?

How do we know sanctification is true?

Why is the Sabbath important for Christians?

How can believers rest in Christ?

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Working and Not Working

What does the Bible say about the Sabbath?

How do we know sanctification is true?

Why is the Sabbath important for Christians?

How can believers rest in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Todd Nibert

Comments

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